A triple dose of John Zorn.

Byline: Fred Crafts The Register-Guard

No two ways about it. Famed jazz and classical composer, saxophonist and musical innovator John is what bassist Greg Cohen calls "a musician's musician."

"He's going after something that's not about a technicality or a thing that focuses the attention on him," Cohen says by phone from his home in Summit, N.J. `He's going after what makes the music vital.

"The more I've played with him in various contexts, the more I see that one of his real gifts - along with being a great improviser and a great composer - is he knows how to extract a real high energetic level of performance out of the people he works with. And that's not all that common these days."

While Zorn has a way of putting himself second to his music, he will be in the spotlight next weekend when the Oregon Festival of American Music provides a two-day, three-concert John Zorn Festival. The event will celebrate his classical compositions, "game" pieces and jazz work.

Zorn himself will be on hand. He will play saxophone in the seminal jazz group Masada.

Innovative, yet essential

With the festival's emerging penchant for innovative artists for its Now Hear This series, it's no surprise it focused on Zorn, whom OFAM Executive Director James Ralph calls one of America's most important musicians.

"What I find interesting about Zorn is his lack of boundaries, commitment to group composition, commitment to improv and frank recognition of the interface between broader cultural artifacts and the more restricted rule set of any given musical genre - or any art form, for that matter,' Ralph says. "It is often `weird stuff,' but nuts, so is a lot of art music."

Adds Erik Martin, the festival's operations director, "Zorn has assumed a very important role in jazz history, although jazz is too limiting a boundary. He is a true leader-composer in the Miles Davis tradition."

While Davis launched the careers of Dave Holland, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter and others, Zorn has been instrumental for Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz, Dave Douglas, Marc Ribot, Cyro Baptista, Derek Bailey, Bobby Previte and Fred Frith.

"What's most amazing to me," Martin says, `is that all of the Zorn collaborators are leaders in their own ensembles, and they sound completely different in their own groups.'

Cohen plays in Zorn's string trio and other groups, including Masada, which has Dave Douglas on trumpet, Joey Baron on drums, Cohen on bass and Zorn on alto sax. Masada will gather in Eugene for a rare appearance Oct. 4.

"It was a very fortunate thing that happened when we got together," Cohen says. `It was for a soundtrack recording. Being the type of person that he is, he thought there was enough to try it for the band.

`It clicked, and he kept going with it.'

Zorn, who declined to be interviewed for this article, turned 50 on Sept. 2 - a milestone that inspires evaluation.

"At 50 years old, he's already made a great contribution to both written music and recorded music,' Cohen says. `And when people see him perform, they realize he's capable of getting very exciting performances - not only from himself, but the people he chooses to work with."

Renaissance Manhattan

A lifelong New Yorker, Zorn has been a part of the city's downtown scene since 1975.

Zorn found himself inspired by such avant garde composers as Charles Ives, Edgard Varese, John Cage, Elliott Carter, Harry Partch, Alban Berg, Igor Stravinsky, Pierre Boulez, Mauricio Kagel and Carl Stalling. His experimental bands Naked City and Masada gained him a large cult following.

These days, he spends much of his time composing.

For the Eugene festival, Zorn's classical pieces "Le Momo," "Amour Fou" and "Carny" will be performed. So will the premiere of the festival-commissioned "Goetia": a 12-minute, solo violin work to be played by Jennifer Choi.

The piece also will feature cellist Fred Sherry and pianist Stephen Drury.

Oct. 4 will be devoted to "Cobra," Zorn's best-known game piece: a group improvisation in which the structure - the rules of the game - is set by a prompter at performance time and the players have complete freedom within that structure. "Cobra" will be performed by a dozen local players.

Exactly how many compositions Zorn has written is unknown, but they may number several hundred. Getting things done is, Cohen says, one of Zorn's specialties.

"He likes to have a good time, and he tries not to take things too seriously. But when he has to become serious to get something done, he does that. ...

`That's part of the reason he's successful: He knows exactly what he wants and he knows how to get it. He doesn't mince words when it comes to things not going down the way he needs them to go down, because he has to keep that high standard to keep himself interested and focused in what he's doing.

"For him, it's a holistic thing. It's not just about the players doing the music or it's not just about him and his reed or his focus on his performance. It's about the entire event."

Just as the John Zorn Festival is all about him.

Fred Crafts can be reached at 338-2575, [e-mail].

CONCERT PREVIEW

John Zorn Festival

When and where: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3 (`Zorn Classical') and 2:30 p.m. Oct. 4 (`Cobra') at the Shedd, 285 W. Broadway; 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4 (`Masada') at the Hult Center, Seventh Avenue and Willamette Street

How much: $12.50 to $30.50 through the Oregon Festival of American Music ticket office, 687-6526, or Oct. 4 only through the Hult box office, 682-5000

Pre-concert interview: 7 p.m. Oct. 3 in the Shedd Concert Hall; admission by concert ticket only

Also: Workshop-rehearsal of "Cobra" 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 4 in the Shedd Concert Hall; admission by concert ticket only

GuardLine: To hear samples of Zorn's music, call GuardLine at 485-2000 from a touch-tone phone and request category 3733

CAPTION(S):

Luckily for fans, John Zorn will hit town for a rare performance with Masada.